10 reasons to visit Germany's Allgäu region

One most distinctive peaks of the Allgäu Alps is the 2,592 meter (8.504 ft.) Hochvogel. It towers at least 200 or even 300 meters above the surrounding hills. From its peak, which can be only reached by a accomplishing a rather demanding mountain ascent, you can see as far as the Swiss Alps and the Black Forest.

Oberstdorf is the place for winter sports in the Allgäu. Oberstdorf every year hosts the first part of the ski jumping Four Hills Tournament on the Schattenberg large hill. A cable car takes winter sports enthusiasts from Oberstdorf up to the Nebelhorn, the Allgäu's highest skiing area.

On the 2,224 meter (7,297 ft.) high Nebelhorn you'll find one of the many skiing areas in the Allgäu. It boasts 13 kilometers (8 mi.) of prepared ski runs and if visibility is good you can enjoy a panoramic view of some 400 alpine peaks from the mountain station.

Breathtaking landscapes are essential to tourism in the Allgäu region. One of the most visited natural sights is the Breitachklamm, a narrow gorge which has a depth of up to 150 meters (492 ft.). As far back as 1905 a 2.5 kilometer (1.9 mi.) walkway was created to lead people safely through the gorge.

For hikers the Allgäu region is both a destination and a way station. Many set of from Oberstdorf on a mountain hike that lasts several days and leads over the Alps all the way to Italy. On the E5 European Long Distance Path you spend the night's in mountain huts, like the Kemptener Hütte at an altitude of 1,844 meters (6,050 ft.).

In summer they are very much part of the Allgäu experience: the cultivated mountain pastures. Like the Dietersbach-Alpe in the Trettachtal valley, where hikers can take a break and enjoy a meal. And even if you can't see the cows on the pastures you are sure to hear the faint ring of the bells around their necks.

One of the biggest celebrations in the Allgäu is the annual "Viehscheid", marking the cattle drive from the mountain pastures back to the valley. After some 100 days of summer retreat up on the mountain pastures the cattle are returned to their owners in the valley villages - like in Oberstaufen.

For those who find hiking too much effort there is always the option to cross the Allgäu region by road. Like on the German Alpine Route, which leads from Lake Constance all the way to the Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria. It takes you over mountain passes like the Oberjochpass or past sights like Neuschwanstein Castle. In 2017 the Alpine Route will celebrate its 90th anniversary.

Bavarian King Ludwig II, known as the fairytale king, of course loved the Allgäu region. Just above the village of Schwangau he had Neuschwanstein Castle built. He didn't live to see its completion, but his dream of a medieval knights' castle is has become one of the world's most visited tourist attractions.

One of the main tourist hubs of the Allgäu region is the city of Füssen in the so-called Königswinkel or "King's nook". Only a few kilometers from Neuschwanstein Castle, Füssen's attractions include a medieval fortress called the Hohen Schloss, and a very attractive old town center. This is also where the Romantic Route, Germany's best known holiday theme route, ends.